This was my fourth trip to West Virginia. The first time, it was a spur of the moment weekend trip when I was in U.Va. We went horseback riding and stayed in a remote log cabin with absolutely no contact with the world.

The second time as even more adventurous; we went white-water rafting with a bunch of friends and came back tired and exhilarated.

The third time was leisurely trip to Summersville with cousins and visiting aunts and uncles. It was a relaxed picnic kind of trip.

This time it was a trip to the mountains for some rustication. We found ourselves a little house on top of a hill with an incredible view . It was kind off odd—because other than Ashu, the others (Ashu’s fiancé Shweta, her brother Siddhu, another Ashburn couple—Nikhil and Suman and one of their friends Kumar) were strangers to me & Seejo. Infact we were meeting with half the group pretty much for the first time. Some times the trip is about the destination, some time it is about the activities , sometimes it is simply the journey. At other times, very rare though they are—its just about the people, strangers who become friends and make a trip very memorable.

That’s what I shall remember of this West Virgina trip….the tiny house on top of a mountain, with a view of the expansive green valley below and some strangers who became friends on that mountain top and had a grand time of it.